PwC: Smartphone-connected health devices, behavioral health are top healthcare trends for 2016

Smartphone-connected device use, focus on behavioral health, and better databases for health information analysis, are within the top 10 trends in healthcare for 2016, according to PwC's annual Health Research Institute report. HRI also released results from a survey of 1,000 US consumers. Read More

Stroke & Telemedicine

Daily Headlines

Tuesday, December 08, 2015

Stroke Rounds: Telemedicine Shortens Door-to-Needle Time (Links to an external site.)    Nearly half-hour saved in innovative program (Links to an external site.) Read more (Links to an external site.)

Practices With NPs, PAs More Likely To Adopt EHRs

A new study finds that practices that employ advanced practice providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, are almost 75% more likely to adopt electronic health records than those that do not employ such providers. The researchers also find that advanced practice providers were more likely to be employed at large, primary care and urban practices. EHR Intelligence, American Journal of Managed Care. Read More

Patient Satisfaction Declines With Docs' Computer Use

A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine finds patients are less likely to consider their health care "excellent" when providers spend more time using the computer. An accompanying editorial recommends that providers ensure patients also can see the screen and explain why the computer is being used. Reuters. Read More

On the move with mHealth: Nurses develop mobile health tools

Courtesy of the GWU Milken Institute NEW AND NOW On the move with mHealth: Nurses develop mobile health tools Mobile health technology has broadened nurses’ horizons beyond what anyone could have imagined, giving them the ability to improve care and communication and educate patients in managing their own health. Read more

How hospitals' 'culture of secrecy' keeps error victims out of the loop

While hospitals closely monitor medical errors, the nation's third-leading cause of death, they seldom give patients and the public access to detailed information about them. To learn more:
- read the report (autoplay video)  Read More

Nurses' work environment helps outcomes, readmissions more than staffing

The nurse work environment contributes more to good patient outcomes and reduced readmission rates than staffing levels do, according to a new report from Press Ganey.
The analysis found hospitals with better nurse staffing and work environments tend to have stronger nursing outcomes, such as lower job dissatisfaction and burnout and intent-to-leave rates. Such environments are good for patient outcomes as well, as prior research revealed they reduce readmissions for heart failure, pneumonia and myocardial infarction, according to the report.  Read More

Top 10 List of Health Tech Hazards Released

Poorly cleaned flexible endoscopes that can spread antibiotic-resistant pathogens are the top health technology hazard that hospitals and clinicians should tackle in 2016, according to a new report from the ECRI Institute.
The annual list of technology pitfalls issued by the nonprofit research organization also includes missed alarms for medical devices and inadequate monitoring of postoperative patients for opioid-induced respiratory depression, which can lead to brain injury or death.  Read More  ECRI Site

EHR Adoption Comes at Expense of Doctor-Patient Relationship

The healthcare system is too focused on technology-based checklists and protocols requiring data entry by physicians, leaving less time for patients and getting in the way of productive doctor-patient relationships.  Read More

UCLA’s strategy for patient-facing apps inside and outside the hospital

Keeves talked about UCLA’s in-patient tablet program, as well as some remote monitoring initiatives. But the secret sauce at the heart of all the programs is not just patient engagement, but actual patient feedback. UCLA has a volunteer patient advisory board that reviews all changes to the patient portal.

“When you want to take your technology tools further, it’s really important to hear from the patients who use them what they need,”... Read More

Missed Alarms, Health IT Setup on ECRI's List of Hospital Tech Risks

The ECRI Institute's annual Top 10 Health Technology Hazards report includes several health IT issues that hospitals should pay attention to next year to reduce patient harm. The report states that missed alarms -- which previously held the top spot for four years -- continues to be a major concern. FierceHealthIT et al.  Read More

Study: Weight-Loss Mobile Apps No More Effective Than Fliers

A new study published in the journal Obesity finds that mobile health applications were no more effective than informational handouts provided during a physician visit in promoting sustained weight loss. Unlike other weight-loss research, the study was conducted over two years and focused on individuals between ages 18 and 35. MobiHealthNews, Obesity.  Read More

New Studies Find Promise in Online Behavioral Therapy

A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal finds that online cognitive behavioral therapy can help treat anxiety, depression and emotional distress. Meanwhile, a study published in JAMA Psychiatry finds that online therapy can help prevent suicidal thoughts among new doctors. HealthDay/U.S. News & World Report, AP/Modern Healthcare. Read More

Medicare & Telemedicine: Your Top Reimbursement Questions, Answered

By Teresa Iafolla on Nov 04, 2015

When it comes to telemedicine, navigating the reimbursement process can be tricky. What rules do you need to follow to ensure you get paid? How do you know your patients are eligible for telemedicine? How does the billing process actually work?
We get these questions all the time at eVisit. While the answers vary a bit depending on which payer you’re talking about, it’s usually easiest to start with Medicare.
Read More

Social Media, Data Analytics Enable Real-Time Flu Tracking

A new study published in PLOS Computational Biology finds that electronic health records, crowdsourced surveillance data, Google searches and tweets can be used to accurately track influenza outbreaks in real time. Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital say their "ensemble model" reached a 90% correlation with CDC's two-week forecasts. Health IT Analytics, Boston Children's Hospital release. Read More

CMS' Final Physician Fee Schedule Rule Has Health IT Implications

CMS has released its 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule, which includes several health IT provisions. Among other things, the final rule adds new telemedicine codes for prolonged inpatient and end-stage renal disease care and expands Medicare's list of qualified telehealth providers to include certified registered nurse anesthetists. Politico's "Morning eHealth," CMS final rule.Read More

AHA: Inadequate Interoperability Hinders Several Aspects of Care

	A recent report by the American Hospital Association says that the U.S. health care system's lack of interoperability negatively affects care coordination, patient engagement, and reporting of public health, quality and safety data. AHA recommends that officials develop more specific standards for the use of health IT. EHR Intelligence, FierceHealthIT.Read More

OCR Launches HIPAA Privacy, Security Portal for App Developers

HHS' Office for Civil Rights has launched an online portal for mobile health technology developers to better understand issues related to HIPAA privacy and security rules. The platform allows registered users to submit questions, offer comments on other submissions and vote on the relevancy of topics. FierceHealthIT et al. Read More

CMS, ONC Unveil Final Rules for Meaningful Use, EHR Certification

CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT have released the final rules for Stage 3 of the meaningful use program, modifications for 2015 through 2017 and the 2015 Edition Health IT Certification Criteria. CMS also announced a 60-day public comment period to address lingering concerns from stakeholders. Health Data Management et al.
Read More

ONC Releases Final Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology today released its final Interoperability Roadmap laying out near-term, mid-term, and long-term goals to advance the safe and secure exchange of electronic health information nationwide.

Through the use of interoperable health IT, the roadmap seeks to enable the healthcare industry’s transition from the current fee-for-service model to a value-based model.  Read More

11 Things to Know about the Meaningful Use Final Rule

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released a massive final rule making modifications to Stages 1 and 2 of the Electronic Health Records Meaningful Use program, covering 2015 through 2017. The rule also finalizes Stage 3. What are the key takeaways? We distill the top things to know for healthcare IT executives.  READ MORE

46 percent of docs aren’t aware of Medicare billing code for remote care

This code allows physicians to get reimbursed for non-face-to-face care if the patient has two or more chronic conditions that are expected to last more than one year. Other requirements include: the chronic conditions place the patient at significant risk of death, and that providers create, revise, or monitor a comprehensive care plan. Read More

ONC Releases Final Version of Five-Year Health IT Strategic Plan

	The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT's final Federal Health IT Strategic Plan for 2015 to 2020 focuses on patient-centered data and care, rather than providers and electronic health record adoption. Industry groups expressed support for the plan but noted the importance of improving interoperability. Modern Healthcare et al. Read More

Patients with smartphones more likely to use online patient portals

RSi Communications Sep 25, 2015

Patients who own smartphones are five times as likely to use online patient portals. Indeed, 27% of smartphone owners access patient portals, whereas only 5% of those who lack smartphones do.
As many as 50% of U.S. households use patient portals infrequently, and 23% do not use these portals at all, according to a report by Parks Associates, presented in September at the second-annual Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers, which was held in in San Diego.  Read More

Study Finds Consumers Providers Differ on Preferred Uses of Health IT

A new study finds that while both consumers and providers view new health IT tools favorably, they differ in how patients should use such tools and who owns patients' electronic health records. For example, providers were less likely than consumers to be comfortable with patients using health IT tools for self-diagnosis and more likely to believe they owned patients' EHRs. FierceHealthIT, Journal of Medical Internet Research. Read More

Oncology Group Urges Congress To Bolster EHR Interoperability

The American Society for Clinical Oncology is calling on Congress to pass legislation that would ban information blocking and bolster interoperability of electronic health records. The group says cancer researchers often face barriers to sharing clinical trial data. Modern Healthcare, ASCO release. Read More

Nursing Group Touts Importance of Behavioral, Social Data in EHRs

The American Academy of Nursing is calling for the health care industry to adopt the Institute of Medicine's recommendations for incorporating behavioral and social health data into electronic health records. The group says health care stakeholders must work together to overcome barriers to including such data. Heath IT Analytics, Nursing Outlook.

Telemedicine Adoption Rates Up From Last Year

A new HIMSS Analytics study finds that the rate of telemedicine adoption among health care providers increased from 54.5% in 2014 to 57.7% in 2015. The most common use of telemedicine services was to fill gaps in care. FierceHealthIT, HIMSS Analytics study. Read More

VA To Launch New Vets.gov Portal To Integrate Department Websites

On Nov. 11, 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to launch an integrated online portal -- called Vets.gov -- that will consolidate VA's more than 1,000 veteran-related websites into a centralized hub to streamline users' access to the department's various services. Officials say it will take about one year for the site to be fully operational. FierceHealthIT et al. Read More

Health IT Tools Are Burdensome for Chronically Ill, Older Patients

A new study identifies several barriers keeping individuals with multiple chronic conditions from adopting health IT tools to track their data. The researchers say developers should focus on creating tools that "clearly reduce patient inconvenience and burden" and cut the workload associated with tracking health data. FierceMobileHealthcare, Journal of Medical Internet Research.